What should I do after being charged with felony resisting? 9 Answers as of July 08, 2013

I was charged with DUI and felony pc-69 (resisting) . The officers pretty much roughed me up after mouthing off to them. I was slammed to the ground while I was already in handcuffs. The officer said I kicked him when I was hogtied in the ambulance. Yet he had no injuries. He did have a few light scratches on his hand from slamming me to the ground and rubbing my face in the concrete. I have no prior record, and the DA has filed this as felony resisting. What are my odds of getting the pc-69 charge at least reduced if I plea?

Ask a Local Attorney. 100% Anonymous. Free Answers.

You are charged with a serious offense. You need to retain a good certified criminal law specialist. Without being your attorney I cannot address the specifics of your case. There is a police report which probably contains a different version of the events than you have provided. Those differences need to be addressed by your attorney in evaluating your case and you hope for a lesser charge.

It's hard to answer a question like this without seeing the police report. Their version may read very differently than your version and it's their version that is the evidence against you. You need to have an attorney review the police report to give you an intelligent evaluation of the case. That said, there is a good chance that you will be offered a favorable deal if you have an otherwise clean record and can say that this was an isolated incident.

Defend the charges. You'll learn the actual charge[s] filed against you when you appear for arraignment at your first court hearing. The prosecutor can amend at any time he feels he can prove additional or different charges. The charges determine how much time would be imposed if convicted. CAN the case end up being reduced or dropped? Sure. Is that likely, just because you want it? No. The police and DA don't spend time and money arresting, charging and prosecuting cases only to drop them without a fight. Thats what attorneys are for. The honest answer is that no attorney can predict the outcome, nor even give an intelligent opinion, without reviewing and knowing all the charges, evidence, police reports, testimony, priors history, etc. Of course you can fight it. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, and can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all possible defenses with whatever admissible and credible witnesses, evidence and facts are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or at trial. While this isn't a 'capital case', you certainly face potential jail and fines, so handle it right. Not exactly a do it yourself project in court for someone who does not know how to effectively represent himself against a professional prosecutor intending to convict and jail you. If you don't know how to do these things effectively, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion, reduction or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate. Keep in mind a little free advice: When arrested for DUI, whether alcohol or drugs, then upon release from jail or booking the defendant is given documents that include a notice that you have only ten days to file a request with DMV for a hearing on an appeal of an automatic one-year suspension of your license imposed by DMV. That is separate and runs consecutively with any suspension that may be imposed by the court. Contact DMV and do so, timely, then appear at your scheduled DMV appeal hearing and present any supporting evidence and testimony. If you don't know how to do these things, then hire an attorney that does.

As a general rule, a defendant representing oneself will not be able to receive the same reduction in the charges in the same manner as would an experienced criminal attorney would receive. PC 69 sets forth punishment either in State Prison or County Jail. Thus, an argument can be made that this charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor. It is recommended that you immediately consult with an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney without any further delay.

The District Attorney will always support what the police officer says. This means you will need an experienced and aggressive criminal defense law firm to defend you. There will likely be more than police officer testifying against you and you don't say if you have any witnesses to support your version of events. In addition you do not say what your blood alcohol was. The higher the blood alcohol the less likely you will be a credible witness as the DA will say you are too drunk to properly recall what happened. If you were injured, the cops are always worried about being sued so the DA likely will pursue the case aggressively. The fact you have no prior record is good but whether your case can be reduced to a misdemeanor will depend in part as to the quality of your lawyer.

Ask a Local Attorney

Disclaimer: The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or should be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertisements. Your access of/to and use of this site is subject to additional Supplemental Terms.